Southland

Southland accommodation reaches from Invercargill’s wide streets out to Stewart Island, with cribs and baches at the quiet end of the country. Bluff oysters in season and the Catlins within day-trip reach give the south more pull than it usually gets credit for.

Athol is a stop on the Around the Mountains cycle trail, close to the Mataura’s brown trout water. Across Foveaux Strait, Rakiura’s bush tracks and sheltered bays make Stewart Island feel a long way from anywhere, though the hop over from Invercargill is short and kiwi outnumber the residents.